You'll Always Be My Thunder
by Subvert Normality
Summary: Zuko has been Fire Lord for a while now, he can't afford to disappear, but what happens when he finds himself in OUR world? During his stay, he'll have to face challenges and make sacrifices he'd never thought of whilst trying to find a way back home. RR!
1. Chapter Un: Hello Universe, Hear Me Roar

Full Summary: Zuko somehows manages to transport himself from his world to our world. He will have to face challanges and sacrifice things he'd never thought of whilst trying to find a way home, but what if he can't get home? What will happen when he finds himself attached to the new life he's begun to carve out? Read to find out =D

Chapter 1: Hello Universe, Hear Me Roar

WC: 4,665

Disclaimer: i don't own anything avatar!

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**[My POV ;D]**

Shrill and ear splitting, an alarm broke the silence in a still-dark room. Groggily, I pulled myself out from underneath my cocoon of blankets. Rubbing my eyes open, I reached over to my nightstand. I blindly groped for my phone, the source of the noise. My other hand was resting on the top of my head which was a mass of tangles and awkward curls.

"Mng" I moaned, blinking to full consciousness. I slid my phone open, light pooling from it. Wincing, my eyes squeezed shut as I jammed down on the 'end' button. I groaned and dropped back down onto my bed, mummy style, not even bothering to slither under the covers. I could still feel the warmth trapped in them, and the difference between them and the cold air made me shiver. However, I ignored it and attempted to fall asleep again.

"THUNDER! GET UP" My mom's voice echoed up the hallway she was vigorously pounding on. I nearly jumped out of my skin, jolting upright and very ungracefully spilling onto the floor.

"I'm up." I mumbled under my breath angrily. It seemed to take all of my effort to roll over six inches and flick my lamp on. The light was overly bright, and I shielded my eyes from it. I blinked lazily, finally readjusting to the unwanted light, and moaned again. What time was it? My eyes trailed over the six inches I traveled and saw my cell phone on the edge of my bed.

"Phone, come." My voice was still thick with sleep, and it was so tempting to climb my way back onto my bed and pass out. I mean, the sun wasn't even up yet! With a groan, I reached up for my phone, tugging on my sheets with my other hand to make it fall in my grasp. I smiled victoriously whilst sliding my phone open to check the time.

6:23

"FUCK" I hissed, maybe a little too loudly, considering my brother was in the room next door. Contrary to the popular belief that cursing kids get the soap, my mother would probably rip my hair out and make me eat it if she ever caught me cursing. I'd be _lucky_ to get off the hook so easily by just licking a bar of soap. Sucking in a deep breath, I snapped my phone back into place, trying to ignore the little digital numbers.

'_I have plenty of time to get dressed.'_ I told myself reassuringly, leaning all the way over onto my stomach and turning on my hair straightener. That was one of the greatest things about my room: it was so small, I could pretty much just move one foot and reach something on the other side of it. Of course, my room was probably more cluttered than an antique store, but hey, it makes me happy, so who cares?

As the straightener was heating up, I finally decided to get up on my feet, gripping the sides of my skull when I felt my head rush. I walked over to my bed, reaching under my pillow to grab my laptop. Flipping it open, I zipped my finger across the touch pad and it blinked to life. Behind me, I could hear the 'beep' of my straightener, telling me it had finished heating up. I dismissed it and waited for the screen to finish loading, clicking my music player and turning on my 'morning' playlist. Bayside began to shred from the speakers, and I smiled happily.

I flopped back down on the floor in front of my mirror and began the task of straightening my bed-head. Impatiently, I ripped my hairbrush through my tangles, ignoring the rough 'SCCCC' noises it was making. I didn't have time to worry about the state of my head right now; I needed to be ready for school. Mercilessly, I continued to probably destroy my hair while removing the knots until I realized I had to pee. Abandoning the hairbrush, I jumped up to run to the bathroom. I could have cried when the door was shut and locked.

"Alan! PLEASE LET ME IN THERE!" I sobbed dramatically, leaning heavily against the door. I could barely make out what he was saying from within.

"Mm…shaving…gnf…" Was all I could hear, and I whined, swiveling around to dash back into my room.

As soon as I sat down I stood back up. Where was my hairbrush?! I growled inwardly, desperately turning in circles, trying to figure out where I had placed it. I swiftly turned my head to look under my bed when I felt it smack against the side of my head.

"Ow, damn it!" I began to rub where the brush had made contact with my skull, reaching behind me to wrench the perpetrator out of my hair. Figures. Why wouldn't it just fall down to the ground like a normal gravity-prone object? It just _had_ to keep a hold in my hair. With much effort, I sat back down and began to straighten my hair carefully, avoiding clipping my ears with the hot metal in all of my anger.

After only a few moments, half of my monstrous hair was beginning to resemble something more presentable, and per usual, I twirled a hair tie around that half and set to work on the remaining mess. I was just finishing my last layer when my brother practically busted my door down. I could see his glare reflected in my mirror.

"We're leaving in ten minutes. You better be ready or we'll leave without you." He snapped at me, slamming my door.

I resisted the urge to shout profanities at him. Instead, I simply finished getting dressed at my own pace; finishing my hair and other necessities, such as finally peeing, before putting on the outfit I had chosen the previous night. I slid my skin tight black and yellow plaid jeans on, wiggling my hips only slightly to adjust them comfortably. Even though there was no way they would fall off, I still laced a rainbow-coloured star-studded belt through the loops, shoving the excess end through a hair tie I had looped onto it just for that purpose. My shirt was much quieter in colour, a soft blue spaghetti strap piece that hugged my sides perfectly, resting just above my jeans, whilst showing a sliver of my slightly tan skin. Turning, I yanked one of the top drawers of my dresser open to grab two socks at random, as my socks never match, and shoved my feet in them before reaching down to force my black skate shoes over them. I leaned down to observe the Monster and Red Bull tabs I had twined in the laces, arranging them so their vibrant colours were face up.

[A/N: my shoes are pretty amazing :D]

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I began my trek downstairs, re-safety pinning my necklace in place and sliding my friendship bracelet to the top of my wrist. I pulled a pack of gum out of my back pocket and popped a piece in my mouth, chomping away, looking around. My brother was seated on the couch, fuming, as usual. If we didn't leave when he wanted to leave, he almost always threw a tantrum.

I waltzed around the corner, glancing to see where my mother was. Her door was propped open, our dog Poco wagged his tail when he saw me, jumping up and prancing towards me in all his collar-jingling joy. Stroking him a few times, I scanned the room for my mother. My eyebrows quirked when I realized I couldn't spot her.

"Mom…?" I called hesitantly, tossing Poco onto her bed. All of a sudden she appeared behind me, and when I whirled to face her, she looked flustered.

"Keys…" She was muttering under her breath. I simpered.

"The keys on are the peg by the door, your purse is on your door handle and you phone is in your hand. Ready?" I smirked at her. I always knew where everything was. It was rare for me to lose or not be able to point to the whereabouts of an object. My mother nodded at me and I walked back into the front room where my brother was still angrily glaring. And then my mind hatched an evil plan to make him even madder.

"I call front!" I chimed, slumping down onto the couch next to him, pulling my phone out of my other back pocket and going through all my good morning texts. I never had the time to check them when I was getting dressed. The first one was from Sarah, and I quickly opened it, feeling my brother's angry stare on me the whole time.

"_Good morning, Thunder :] R u staying after school today?"_ It read in outrageously loud letters compared to the darkness outside. The sun had yet to rise. I quickly typed out a reply, sliding my phone open to use the keypad as opposed to t9.

"_Ya, if you are. We're leaving in a sec, meet me at the locker?"_ I hit send and allowed my phone to slide shut on its own, closing with a satisfying 'click!' Only a few seconds passed before my phone buzzed with a response.

"_I'll b there :] ilybby"_ After reading it, I texted 'ilyt' back and then went through my other texts, dismissing them as less important people and not responding to them. I rammed my phone back into my tight pocket and ran a hand through my hair, exhaling. Finally my mother made her grand appearance and we were out of there, driving us to school.

The moment I walked through the high school doors, tons of sounds hit my ears, and this only succeeded in pissing me off. People were so fucking loud in the morning. I kept my eyes down on the floor, avoiding the look of anyone who might be trying to catch my eye. Not a lot of people were really worth talking to, in my opinion. It's not that I think I'm better than them, I just don't think they are worth my time. Half of the things most of them say are unintelligent and, frankly, quite vulgar. I'm almost positive a lot of the alumni saw me as a bitch, but I just prefer to be friends with people who have an IQ higher than 50.

Jerking the door to the stairs open, I began to ascend them, counting them under my breath. OCD, hehe. Two girls were passing by, unknown to me because I couldn't see them, as my head was down, but I could hear them whisper as I walked past.

"Look at that skinny bitch. Someone should ask her if she's anorexia." As soon as I'd heard them speak, I had to fight back the reflex to smack my own forehead. Really, sometimes, it surprises me how completely stupid people can be. Just because I expect the worst of people doesn't mean I can't be caught off guard when they outdo themselves and make me hate humanity a little more. Seriously, how do people spend fifteen years of their life being educated and still be that brainless? It took a good amount of self control _not_ to turn around and correct them on their lack of intelligence, but I had somewhere to be.

So I trudged on, skirting down a hallway before pushing my way past a crowd of people and arriving at my locker. Sarah was already there, sitting on the floor with her back against the mouth-wash blue lockers. I energetically jumped and landed in front of her, grinning down at her. The other people around my locker were animatedly talking about pulling eyeballs out with ascots, and I smiled inwardly.

These were the kind of people I could be around. Freaky stories and horribly vicious conversations, but at least they spoke with an ounce of knowledge. Well, I gotta admit, they're pretty hilarious too.

"Thunder!" Jane shrieked, throwing her arms around me. At the sound of my name Sarah looked up and pulled her earphone buds out of her ears.

'_No wonder she didn't notice me.'_ I thought, returning Jane's embrace and also shouting her name. Sarah stood up slowly and straightened her shirt out, patiently waiting while Jane and I hugged. When Jane had stepped back and launched back into the eye-ripping story, Sarah took her place and I hugged her back much more enthusiastically.

"Oh, jeez, Sarah! Guess what!" I exclaimed when we pulled apart, furiously digging through my backpack.

Sarah watched me with interest. "What?" she asked. Then, "Did you finally find Narnia?" I paused my frantic searching, casting her a look of pure dejection.

"No!" I cried, wiping away false tears. "Why must you remind me of all my failures!?" Sarah laughed and shrugged, falling casually up against the lockers.

"Okay, well, I'm out of guesses." She amended just as I pulled two slices of paper. Her eyes widened and I smirked, waving them about in the air like flags. "Are… Are those Bayside tickets?" She asked. I barely nodded a quarter inch and she was screeching, flailing her hands. "How did you get them!?"

I flexed my fingers, placing one of the rectangles in her hands. "Let's just say being friends with Shredder has more benefits then just talking about his crazy make-out fests." I replied, shoving mine back into my bag. Shredder was my twenty year old best-guy-friend. "I have a third one, but I don't know who to give it to." Thoughtfully, I looked around. I didn't really like anyone else, and Shredder was going with his girlfriend, not like he would want to go with two fifteen year old girls plus one anyway.

"Well," Sarah mused, interrupting my thoughts, "the concert is like, three weeks away, you'll find somebody." I nodded in agreement. I had plenty of time. Just as I opened my mouth to say something, the harsh clang of the first bell echoed through the hallway, and the mass of students began walking to their classes. Waving to Sarah, I headed back down the stairs to my first period.

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**[Zuko's POV]**

The night faded as the sun breathed its last breath and disappeared under the horizon. My breath exhaled as I watched its descent, my heart feeling as though something had fallen with it. Following the stream of lavender darkness, my eyes trailed up to the stars and I silently began to contemplate.

Life had been extravagant, but, as with all things, complicated. Nothing ever seemed to be right. The universe had a way of throwing things at me that were the polar opposite of 'fortunate'. Oh, and to top it all off, I had a headache.

One thing the universe seemed to think was funny would be the rebels. There were small groups who weren't willing to accept me as Fire Lord because my father was still alive. Yes, they were small, but efficient, and they'd been giving me hell for too long, already, and I'd only been Fire Lord for a few months. I can't even begin to imagine why they would even _want_ to stay loyal to him, but even so, I did admire them _because_ their loyalty was unshakeable. Of course, maybe I wouldn't shake it out of them; maybe I would just beat them…

I smiled inwardly at the thought, but dismissed it quickly. My father was the kind of person who thought like that, granted he probably didn't admire anyone but himself; however, I didn't want to be anything remotely similar to him. In my eyes, he was a disgrace to the world, and the worst father. How could I be so lucky?

"Zuko, are you just going to sit and stare at the sky all night, or are you going to come in and spend time with me?" Mai appeared in the doorway behind me, her voice flat and void of all emotion, per usual, and breaking my reverie.

That's another one of those things the universe wanted to fling at me. Ever since Mai moved in to the royal palace, she'd been nothing but clingy. At first it was flattering, but after a while she just got annoying. I'd never been the touch-y type. She always wanted more from me than I wanted to give. And sometimes, she'll say something, and it won't make any sense to me. It's like I don't even know her. I always wonder if she feels the same way. I could never say it to her though, as far as I can tell, she loves me, and she's all I've ever known of love.

"I'll be right there." I said quietly, not turning to look at her. I could hear her sigh and walk away with a 'swoosh' of her dress. Groaning with discontent, I got up and stretched my limbs, stiff from sitting on the ground for so long. My eyes looked out at the horizon again, as if I would be able to see the sun so soon after its daily departure. I sucked in a deep breath, not quite drawing in the strength I knew I could if the sun was still in the sky.

'_It's shining somewhere' _I thought to myself, casting one last dejected glance to the sky, the stars, and walked inside, blinded, from the sudden light.

I scanned the area, not really wanting to be clung to by Mai at the moment. I kept walking, not really heading anywhere distinct, just wherever my feet wanted to go. Abruptly avoiding my room, of course, I turned down a hall that I'd rarely been down. The walls were coated in an unappealing array of gray and black shades. This, however, sparked my curiosity. What could this be, and why hadn't I been there?

The hallway ended with a door, big and wooden, probably as thick as my arm, and coal black. Tentatively, I pushed it open an inch, wincing when it creaked. If Mai came looking for me… I gritted my teeth and opened it further, slowly and steadily. The door croaked on its hinges, and I only bothered to open it enough to fit my body through, sliding in before swiftly shutting it without slamming it.

It was dark. Too dark. The air was stale and felt dry in my throat. Uncomfortably, I lit a small flame in my hand, holding the fire out to look around. My eyes widened when I saw the abundance of scrolls rolled neatly in little cubby holes. I allowed my flame to grow larger, looking around for any lanterns, which, when I spotted them, shot a bright flame to settle in their shallow nicks.

If my eyes widened before, they absolutely flew open now. The term 'as big as saucers' doesn't even describe it. Before me, there were hundreds and hundreds of scrolls, unraveled or coiled tightly, scattered about the room randomly.

Then it occurred to me; this was my father's office.

Curiously, I put the flame in my hand out, not yet aware it was still there, and started shuffling through them. For some reason I got this uncontrollable urge to put all the unrolled scrolls into place. I picked them up, rolling them and putting them away, not really thinking about it or why I was doing it. I just was.

For a while, that's all I did, my mind was consumed with emptiness and the images of the scrolls which I barely noticed because I was barely there. In sight, but out of mind. The flames danced around the room, dimming ever so slightly and then picking up with more ferocity before calming down again. Time passed by, unbeknownst to me, and I felt a sheen of sweat accumulate on my face, but still, I tidied up the room.

Briefly, I stopped and peered around the room. I had already put away most of the scrolls, only five or ten remained askew, and I took a moment to return to myself, immediately noticing the plethora of paper cuts I'd collected. Frowning slightly, I put my fingers in my mouth and sucked at the wounds, ignoring the sting. As I was doing this, my eyes fell on a particularly frail looking scroll, its parchment discoloured with age and the edges were beginning to fray away. I leaned forward and grabbed it carefully, feeling its delicateness as soon as I touched it. From the dust collected on it, I doubted it had ever been touched by my father.

I lifted it up and squinted my eyes to see it, wiping my hands off on my jeans to get rid of the saliva. I could just barely make out what the words were, but thankfully, there were also illustrations. My eyes were almost shut with concentration, straining to understand.

There was a firebender, staring up at the night sky, and somehow he was drawing energy from it. Little sparks of confusion lit up inside of me, struggling to read the tiny script below it.

'_Star-Breathing.'_ Was all I could see, aside from the pictures. I pursed my lips in thought. Star-breathing? Was it possible to get energy from the stars like the sun? Could any bender do it? Or was it just firebenders? My mind was running a million miles an hour. I felt excited all of a sudden, as if I'd just stumbled onto a big secret, which, in a way, I had. I etched the illustrations in my memory and rolled the scroll, carefully placing it somewhere I knew it wouldn't be found.

Then I was running, literally, outside. I needed to try this. My fists were clenching, but aching to try and bend with the energy of the stars on my side. I never even imagined that the stars could possibly fuel a bender. Firebenders rose with the sun, and set with the moon. Was there a potential way that we could still be as powerful at night? If so, were there also ways for waterbenders to be as powerful during the day?

As soon as I had reached the sky, my thoughts emptied out completely and my eyes saw only the images on the scroll, and the stars. I focused on them as thought I'd never seen them in my life, studying them and also added their appearance into my memory vault. Awkwardly, I tried to assume the positions the benders on the scroll had been standing in. My stance wasn't nearly as good and pathetic at best, but I didn't even bother trying to perfect it. I just needed to try, succeed or fail.

Meticulously, I drew in a breath and allowed it to circulate inside me. I felt a familiar warmth with foreign attributes rush through me. This fire I felt was wild, it was less controllable, and it made my veins burn in a delicious way. I was exhilarated, and my breathing increased, wanting to feel more of this addicting fire within me; I wanted to become a part of it, to burn in its clutches.

Almost instantly I felt my hands come to life with flames, and they enveloped me. I couldn't even think to feel pain because there wasn't any pain there. My vision blurred, but I couldn't be bothered. All I knew was that this fire made me feel _alive_, made my body absolutely _live_! Within seconds, the fire was shining all around me, white in colour, unlike any I'd ever seen, little sputters of green dancing in front of me and twirling around me. I couldn't even get past the initial feeling of life within me to notice I'd fallen onto my knees, my eyes snapped shut, and a burst of euphoria seared into me.

Then everything was black.

My hands clutched blindly at nothing but air. The amazing feelings that had been coursing through me had gone, as was the fire surrounding me, and I was hitting something _hard_. It only took a moment to realize my eyes were closed, and I opened them quickly.

The sunlight streaming down into them made me close them again in immense confusion. Hadn't I already watched the sun set? I had seen it fall past the horizon and missed its company. How could it be beaming now? The unmistakable warmth told me that it was indeed there, despite the more logical assumption that I had gone crazy.

Hesitantly, I opened my eyes again, and no doubt, the sun was streaming down on me, filtering from between the leaves of large trees surrounding me. I got up, rubbing my head, which now ached with an insane amount of pain. Gawking at the area, my jaw probably dislocated from my face and hit the ground.

There were little houses built, unlike houses I'd ever seen, along with fleeting glimpses of grass before white rock tiled on top of it, perfectly symmetrical. Then, under the white rock, was a smooth black surface that eerily felt unreal. My hands were resting on it, while my feet were in the grass. Even the grass looked funny, like it was too green. Everything was too colourful here, and it hurt my head even more.

I gripped my forehead in my hands, a low growl of frustration escaping my throat. I was just about to stand up when a large metal contraption came zooming past, dangerously close to me. As if I hadn't almost jumped out of my skin from it, but a large sound also erupted from it, and a shriek burst from my throat as I fell onto the grass as far from the dark surface as possible.

I gulped, taking in the scene around me; my heart was hammering in my chest with fear.

Where was I?

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Questions? Comments?

i feel like this went extremely well for a first chapter.

review? :D


	2. Chapter Deux: How to Fix Everything

Well, here's chapter two! i feel like this chapter went really well, also.

REVIEW! i need motivation, guys! i'm really enjoying writing this, though. =] BTW, YolandaFriella is writing a zuko/thunder story too! she's using me as her OC, check it out! it makes me feel special since i can has fan stories! haha. just read it, it's called 'Crescent'.

Chapter 2: How to Fix Everything

WC: 6,826

Disclaimer: i don't own anything avatar!

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**[My POV ;D]**

My fingers drummed on the side of my desk, impatient. I was chewing on my bottom lip out of habit, my eyes casting side glances at the clock every few seconds, as if the hands would miraculously move to where I wanted them to be. I had 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson stuck in my head, and it was almost driving me more insane than my teacher.

Mr. McPherson. Learn to hate that name, and we can be friends.

There honestly couldn't be a teacher I despised more than him, and not just because he teaches my least favourite subject. Let's face it though, why would _anyone_ enjoy Algebra? It's useless, in my eyes. However, it's just ten times worse that Mr. McPherson also happens to be the biggest creep I've ever met in my fifteen years of existence, and that's really saying something. I've been known to attract the stalker/desperate kind of guys, and Mr. McPherson tops them all.

See, he's the kind of guy who wears slacks and an office shirt with an untidy tie slapped around the collar. His hair is hardly ever brushed, resembling just short of a stack of yarn string-thick dreadlocks. He has light blue eyes that stand out vividly against his tan skin which always looks like it's covered in a good layer of dirt. Whenever he writes with the chalk, it makes the fact that he has gross fingernails stand out even more. His shirts usually have to cover his arms because they're sleeved with tattoos, all grungy green, but he doesn't follow that rule most of the time.

The worst thing: girls are head over heels for him. Apparently the 'dirty pedophile' look is in. Don't ask me why, 'cause I don't get it either.

Mr. McPherson was scrawling numbers across the board, but I barely paid attention. Sarah had him first period, and I had him third, so I already knew what we were learning and what our homework would be. So while he attempted to teach, I was scribbling down the homework problems in my notebook, already halfway done.

I sighed, bored, and flopped my pencil onto my notebook. Mr. McPherson was getting into his 'math' ecstatic rants, telling us all about how the world needed to know the proper use of a quadratic formula. I scoffed under my breath and turned to a blank slice of paper in my notebook and began doodling. I was pretty sure I understood the lesson, no reason to continue listening to him prattle on and on about something that couldn't be any more unimportant to me.

My pocket vibrated, and I casually rested my hand over it to make it more silent whilst being inconspicuous. I'd never been caught texting in class, and I wasn't about to let that change. I waited for Mr. McPherson to start writing out a long problem before fishing my cellular out of my pocket and reading my message. My legs were crossed so that I could easily lay my phone flat against my thigh so it was more concealed.

'_Thunder!!! I WANT VINCE!!!!! Anyway, HIYA CHICA!' _It was from one of my friends, Alexz, who lived in Kansas. I rolled my eyes, wondering when she would stop obsessing over Vince and Howard from The Mighty Boosh. With a quick scan to make sure Mr. McPherson was still indulged in his writing, I tapped out a reply.

'_3__rd__ period hell, . 'sup babe?'_ I hit send at the same moment as I received another text, which caused the one I was sending to fail. I growled in my throat, frustrated, and quickly opened my outbox and re-sent it, scrolling up to read the one that had caused me so much extra trouble.

'_Hey pretty lady with the high heels on…'_ Sarah had sent me Michael Jackson lyrics, and I had to fight really hard not to burst out laughing. Michael Jackson was all over my mind today. Of course, this probably was to be expected. When I heard the news about his passing, I cried. A lot. Ok, maybe more than a lot, but really! Who wouldn't be sad to lose the King Of Pop?

'_Yes, PYT?'_ I texted back, then slid my phone back into my pocket, looking around to see if anyone had noticed. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found all the other students very engaged in the mathematical conversation.

Pathetic. Bleh. Math sucks.

I focused my eyes forward, staring at the board where my demonic teacher was writing, but not really paying attention. I was still doodling, and when I had stopped, I rolled my eyes at my own imagination. Two eyes were staring up at me, the same shape as my ex's. Aggravated, I tore the page out and put it on the desk, slamming my notebook on top of it.

Everyone turned to look at me, including Mr. McPherson.

"Is there a problem, Miss. Larch?" He asked smoothly, setting the chalk on the rail of the board and wiping the excess dust off on his pants. I felt like a bird caught in the eyes of a snake, the very, very, icy blue eyes. I had to resist the urge to tremble when he stepped over a few backpacks and made his way to my desk, towering over me, his clumped hair falling down to frame his face.

I gulped, "No, sir." I replied softly, my eyes finally blinking and turning into a glare. I defiantly broke eye contact and grabbed my pencil, copying down the notes on the board. His shadow still loomed over me, and I could only imagine the look of anger on his face.

"Then what's this?" He snapped, yanking the paper out from under my notebook and observing my drawings. I didn't even hesitate before shrugging and pressing the buttons on my calculator, trying to look really stumped by the problem. Everyone in the class had fallen silent and was staring at me with big round eyes.

"Come out into the hall. Now." He ordered, swiftly turning and striding over the door, ripping it open, holding it, and waiting for me to follow. Glaring, I slid my chair back slowly and walked over stiff-legged. My classmates looked on with pity, and I narrowed my eyes spitefully. He led the way out, closing the door behind me and casting a look up and down the hall.

It was completely empty. Just my luck. I glowered down at the floor, refusing to look at him more than I needed to. He stepped in front of me, the tips of his shoes trespassing into my vision. I curled my lip at them. Even his _shoes_ were disgusting and covered in grit. How did he ever get hired?

"Thunder," He spoke, breaking my reverie, "do you want to pass this class?" I jerked my head up to stare daggers at him.

"I need to in order to graduate, don't I?" I snarled, scowling at him. He returned my scowl, his light blue eyes giving me cold chills.

"Yes, you do. I know you make a's on your papers, but intelligence isn't going to help you pass this class. If you don't cooperate with me, I have every right to fail you for attitude reasons." He snapped back. My scowl darkened.

"Intelligence isn't going to help me? I'm sorry, but I didn't come here for a character lesson, I came here to learn algebra so that I can get it out of the way and never have to see your face again." I hissed. I knew I was stepping out of the lines, but he had no right to threaten me! Mr. McPherson must have realized that I knew that, and he softened.

"Thunder, you know I only want what's best for you." His arm lifted to rest on my shoulder, then, "A pretty girl who is as smart as you are could go so far in life." And that was when I felt his thumb start rubbing small circles just below my clavicle.

My mood shifted dramatically from anger to cold fear. I faltered, stepping back and pressing against the wall as far away from him as I could be. He just responded by mimicking my movements so that we were just as close as before. Frantically, I looked down the hallway, only to remember that help was not going to come.

His eyes locked onto mine, which were wide with panic, my heart drumming in my chest with terror. "Don't you want to pass my class, Thunder?" His whisper sent chills down my spine, my body aching to flee like a rabbit. With his free hand, he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, not bothering to pull his hand back when it rested on my cheek. For one horrifying moment, I was almost sure he was going to kiss me.

Then the bell rang, and it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard in all of my life.

Mr. McPherson jumped back, but his fingertips lingered for just a brush longer, turning to open the door, sweeping his hand in the air and motioning for me to go in. I walked past him nervously, gathering up my stuff and leaving his room as fast as possible. I didn't even slow my speed until I'd gone two hallways down, retreating to my favourite class, French.

**.+++++.**

Lunch passed by in a blur, and I barely took into account the way my friends gave me anxious stares as we ate. I didn't touch my food, nor did I open my powerade. The food probably wasn't an eye opener, because I hardly ever eat, but a day doesn't go by where I don't down a powerade in the first few minutes.

Sarah was the first, of course, to notice that something was up with me. Thankfully, we both had fifth period, our last class of the day, together. As I sat down in my seat after getting my drawing out of my work drawer, she spun my seat violently so that I was facing her. My eyes didn't look up from my hands which were folded in my lap.

"Thunder," She began, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I hesitantly glanced up at her, not lifting my head. "What's wrong with you? You haven't texted me, you didn't drink your powerade, and you haven't said the word 'Bayside' in over five minutes."

Before I could even open my mouth to reply she was waving her hands in the air, exasperated. "Don't try to lie to me," she warned, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, "you're the worst liar ever, and I know something's up." Her face flashed a look that said 'you know I'm dangerous, tell me or get hit'.

I gulped and bit down on my lip, ignoring the rustic taste of blood that seeped into my mouth. My hands were clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms. I shifted nervously.

"well," I started uncomfortably, "it's sort of big, can I tell you when you come over this weekend?" I asked. That was another thing: no matter the circumstances, Sarah came over every weekend, and the first thing we did when she got there was listen to 'Cold and Blue and Lifeless' by Bayside whilst dancing in our socks on the hardwood floor of the kitchen.

Sarah's expression deepened with worry, but her intimidating look was gone. She could tell by my discomfort that it was something way bigger than just a failed test or other trivial matters. So, thankfully, she nodded and turned around to work on her project, leaving me to my thoughts, which is precisely what I wanted.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my chalk pastels and began to blend and colour my drawing, my stress evaporating like water. The only thing that calmed me down more than drawing would be writing, or Bayside. I closed my mind off, and let my attention focus on my art, feeling more at peace than I had all day.

My hands worked restlessly for the rest of the period, until our principal came onto the intercom and announced the end of the day and the dismissal of school. The class seemed to rise as one, flooding the doorway. Sarah and I, being smarter and much more patient, waited until the room had mostly emptied before taking our leave down the congested hallways.

We walked together in silence, pulling out our phones and texting those who had texted us that day. I mostly just said the same thing to everyone which was, _'W/ Sarah. TTYL.'_ I could only assume Sarah was texting her boyfriend, as her fingers were a nonstop hurricane over the keypad. I smiled inwardly and turned down the hallway to my locker, which I shared with her.

"Do we have any homework?" She asked, breaking the silence. I pondered momentarily, visibly wincing when I thought back to third period. If she noticed, she didn't bring it up; she simply waited for me to say what our assignments were.

"Uhm," I reflected, "I finished my homework for math, French, and all we have to do in English is write three story topic ideas, which I did in study hall." I said. She and I had the same classes, but we only had second, fourth, lunch, and fifth together, which is better than most I guess, but it was still sad parting ways with her.

Sarah clapped. "Yay! Me too. That means we have a whole afternoon uninterrupted by menial work!" she exclaimed, tossing her books into the locker with joy. I set mine in much more carefully, but I was happy too, other than my initial discomfort at still being in the same building as Mr. McPherson. Sarah zipped her bag up and slammed the locker, waiting for me to follow suit.

I was just about to stand up when, speak of the devil, Mr. McPherson came strolling down the hallway. My eyes looked up just in time to see him spot me and rapidly change directions, coming towards us.

An overwhelmingly sick feeling made my stomach churn, as if snakes had latched onto me and began to coil tighter and _tighter_. I felt woozy, gripping my backpack until my tendons stuck out under my skin.

"Thunder, Sarah," He greeted as he came nearer. After just a single passing glance, I came to the conclusion that he got even dirtier as the day came to a close. Where did all this dirt come from!?

"Hello Mr. McPherson." Sarah said shortly, nudging me to my feet, and I wobbled slightly, but she steadied me, holding onto my left hand. "We're kind of in a hurry, see you in class." She spoke swiftly, pulling me away. He watched us leave.

"Thunder, I need to see you before class starts tomorrow, come in at seven." He called after us. Before I could shout no at the top of my lungs, Sarah was turning around the corner and slapping a hand over my mouth. She knew how I was, and didn't want me to get detention.

'_I need to thank her later…' _I thought. Of course, there was no way in hell I would go into his class at seven. He could keep dreaming though. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, changing my mind and hoping he wasn't dreaming about me at all.

When we got outside the school, Sarah stopped and looked back and forth. "To the ice cream shop?" She questioned, with a grin. I mirrored her simper and nodded, adjusting my backpack on my shoulders so that it wasn't so heavy.

"So," Sarah stated, waving her hands, as if she could grab a conversation. It wasn't usually this hard for us to talk. My mood was throwing her off. "When are we going to conquer mirror world?

I gave her a tiny half smile, shrugging. "I suppose when we pack a bag of cheerios and get some flashlights. "

"Cheerios?"

"Well, we're bound to get hungry!" I said, "and, I mean, it's good to be prepared" Sarah quirked an eyebrow at me, so I smiled sheepishly.

"You know what would be crazy?" I asked, emphasizing my last word while also changing the subject. As we got farther away from the school, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, and my worry and fear from earlier vanished.

"Hmm?" She hummed pensively.

"If we saw Mr. Brooks at the ice cream shop!" I laughed. Mr. Brooks was my incredibly adorable school counselor. Sarah and I always said hi to him, and had composed many different scenarios of meeting him random places. He was pretty amazing. We even planned to write a comic book about him, his superhero name being 'Blue Steel'. Yeah. We're lane.

"Haha, yeah! And he was like 'oh, hi girls! Do you come here often?' and we were like 'you know it!' and he'd be all 'we should totally hang out here' and you'd be like 'YAY!' and he'd be like 'OMG isn't Aly Ortiz such a skank?'" Sarah giggled, covering her mouth. I couldn't help but bust out laughing as well.

"Yeah! And then we would all suddenly break into song going," I stopped, sucking in a huge breath, "WE ARE STRONG! NO ONE CAN TELL US WE'RE WRONG!" I clutched my heart dramatically, and someone in a car whistled at me as they passed, "SEARCHING OUR HEARTS FOR SOME LO-OVE!" I reached up for the sun, falling to my knees. "Both of us knowing… Love is a battlefield." I finished, letting my hand fall slowly, my head drooping with mock depression.

Sarah rolled her eyes, pulling me up. "We'll never get to enjoy a delicious frozen treat if you keep confessing your views on love to the world. It is proud of you and your knowledge of 80's music, but I would very much love a shake right now. Besides, Mr. Brooks will be gone if we keep taking forever!"

I scoffed. "The world's jealous, that's what!" I shouted as we turned down the road that would take us to the ice cream shop. "Oh, how I love ice cream at discount prices," I swooned, casually resting my arm around Sarah's shoulders. She rolled her eyes and shrugged it off.

"Don't we all?" Then she stopped in her tracks, her eyes becoming little slits as she looked off into the distance. I was about to ask her what the hell she was looking at when my eyes locked onto her target.

Who… was that?

"Thunder…" Sarah whispered, "I've never seen that guy before."

I wanted to agree with her, that I'd never seen him before, but a small part of me felt a hint of remembrance, as though I'd met or seen him at one point in time. Plus, even though he was a good ways away, he really stood out.

"Let's go talk to him!" She shrieked, taking my hand and began sprinting. I almost fell, suddenly feeling jarred back into reality.

I'm going to just say this now, this guy was not ready to see two girls like us, running full speed and coming to a complete stop in front of him. His eyes were wild and bugging out of their sockets, as if he couldn't believe any of the things he was seeing.

He had a large scar on the left side of his face, an eerily familiar scar. Why couldn't I remember him if he was so memorable? I knew I was basically checking him out, but I _knew_ him! I know I did!

"Hi!" Sarah yipped, and he jumped, turning to see us and falling backwards.

"Who are you?" He demanded, his voice raspy, in a sexy way. It gave me goosebumps. I knew that voice from somewhere!

"I'm Sarah, and this is Thunder. Who are you?" She chirped, motioning between the two of us.

He was wearing odd clothes, like, just a basic red shirt and what looked like red pj's. Why all red? Why did that make a part of my brain-gears turn? They needed to turn faster so I could figure out who the fuck he was.

I didn't realize I was glaring at him, because I was inwardly glaring at myself, but when he looked at me, he glared back. The potency behind it made my eyes widen, and I looked away swiftly, still peering at him from the corner of my eye.

His eyes were a brilliant shade of amber. And they were so familiar!

"I don't have to tell you anything. Where the hell am I?" He snarled, standing up, taller than Sarah and me. He wasn't that much taller though, at least I didn't feel more intimidated by him.

"You're not very nice!" Sarah whined, pouting. I could have laughed at her attempt at being adorable if I wasn't so intent on figuring out why I this guy freak caught my eye.

He turned his glare onto Sarah, and I took that moment to look him up and down. He was tall and lanky, but there was a hint of muscles under his unbecoming clothing. In comparison to Sarah and me, he was incredibly pale, and his jet black shaggy hair didn't do much to deny that. I sucked on my lower lip, confused as hell until I looked at scar more closely.

"Zuko!" I shouted incredulously. Zuko? That wasn't possible. He was in a cartoon. This had to be some guy dressing up. "Wait… Are you one of the nerds who sit at the third table during lunch?" I accused.

The guy cocked his head to the side quizzically. "How do you know my name?"

"That's why he's so familiar!" Sarah chimed, a look of enlightenment shining in her eyes. I rolled mine in response.

"Yeah." I walked up closer to him and then walked around him in a circle. He growled, but didn't move. Probably because he had no means of defense, and there were two of us and one of him.

"What are you _doing?_" He grumbled, turning to face me when I walked behind him. Sarah was reaching to poke his scar.

"Trying to figure something out." I murmured, my eyebrows drawn together in confusion. Then I looked up at him. "How did you get here?" Sarah caught my eye and mouthed, 'Oh my GOD.' I nodded in agreement.

Zuko narrowed his eyes skeptically. "I don't know." and he sounded honest. I chomped on my lip, more confused than ever. Was it possible…?

"Thunder, I think this is really Zuko." Sarah gasped, having pulled her hand back, not daring to touch his scar if it was really him. I stared at him. His eyes shifted from me to her, then me again.

"Thunder?" He asked, as if it was the most bizarre name he'd ever heard. Ha. If only he knew.

"That would indeed be my name." I mumbled, still not able to believe my eyes. How long had I been an Avatar fan? Years now? Could I have possibly been blessed enough to meet him? Did karma love me that much?

"We're being Punk'd, aren't we?" Sarah's face fell, and so did mine.

So much for good karma. Being Punk'd seemed like a much more reasonable explanation.

"No," I thought, all of a sudden, "our friends don't hate us that much, and none of them have enough money. Besides, they know we'd enjoy it more because Ashton Kutcher is adorable."

Zuko was just standing there, seeming as confused as we were.

There was only one probable explanation: he had somehow come from his world to ours. But how?

"How did you get here?" I blurted. Zuko just shrugged, and sighed wearily.

"The last thing I remember is running outside and feeling _really_ good." He amended, when I gave him pissed off look for not knowing.

Sarah and I exchanged a glance, _'WTF?'_ We both turned our attention to him. Zuko looked nervous and extremely out of place. We were probably scaring the fuck out of him, too. Which, if I were him, I'd be scared too, I mean, crazy fan girls? That's frightening.

"Oh… Okay." Sarah said quietly, obviously expecting an amazing story filled with adventure. I huffed. This wasn't going anywhere. We had to at least gain his trust.

"Come get ice cream with us!" I offered excitedly, and flashing him my biggest grin. I wasn't giving him a choice. He was coming with us, and I was going to keep him there as long as possible, assuming it really _was_ Zuko.

I don't know why he actually agreed to come, maybe it was because he was lost in a strange and confusing world, and we were probably the first friendly people he'd spoken to. As we started walking again, him slightly away from us, I wondered what had happened to him. How did he get here? Did he have a reason to be here? How long had he been here? Had anyone else spoken to him? I could only imagine how confused and freaked out he must be. A feeling of sympathy washed over me.

'_Poor guy_' I thought, resisting the urge to hug him. I may know basically his whole life story, but to him I was a crazy stranger, and he probably thought I had a terrible fashion sense. Or maybe not, who knew? Sighing quietly, I kept my eyes on the road, unsure of what to say to him, or if I should say anything at all.

**[Zuko's POV]**

My mind was a war of what and what not to do. I'd spent nearly two hours sitting in the grass, too mystified and exhausted to move. I had no idea where I was. Nothing in this place was even remotely recognizable! Then, out of nowhere, two girls, dressed in clothes that looked so tight, they should be suffocating, appear and they know my name! They looked like aliens! Their hair was so differently styled, completely straight, and _blonde_! The girl who called herself 'Sarah' had green eyes, GREEN! And 'Thunder' had amber eyes, like someone from the Fire Nation, but her hair was completely blonde! Darkish blonde, but still blonde… Well, maybe light brown… Still! And they asked me to get 'ice cream' with them! As if I know what _that _is!

I was becoming so perplexed that I couldn't even find the right amount of consistency to be angry, as I normally would have been in such a situation. I didn't know what to think. My head snapped up when one of them shoved me, and I was about to snap at them when I realized they were just trying to get me to turn. They had probably been talking, but I didn't hear them. I was lost inside my own thoughts, for the moment.

My eyes widened when I looked up at a small building, stark white, and had an oddly shaped brown device with a swirled amount of something on top of it. Underneath it was a sign that read _'The Polar Freeze!' _and there was a ridiculous motto under it that was so faded all that could be seen was 'taste—s—flavor—'. If I wasn't so preoccupied being confused, I would probably spend my whole time there trying to figure out what that meant.

Thunder lead us to a round table with a rainbow-coloured umbrella pocking up from the center of it, like a life-sized cocktail drink. Sarah sat down to the left of her, and I warily sat to the right of her, my fingers fidgeting.

"What kind of ice cream would you like?" I looked up, startled to see a waiter, dressed in a tacky blue and white striped uniform, a cobalt blue bowtie wrapped around his neck. His face was completely broken out, and his curly red hair, RED HAIR, stuck out from under a ridiculously shaped hat, one that was a smaller version of the unusual prop on top of the building. He had a nametag that read 'Jolly Johnathon!', and a part of me wanted to smirk, but I was too confused by what 'ice cream' meant.

"What the hell is ice cream!?" I asked with serious curiosity, and a little bit of frustration. As soon as I'd said it, all three of them looked at me like _I_ was the alien.

Jolly Johnathon gave me an annoyed look, jerking his thumb towards the object that had baffled me. "See that? That's an _ice cream cone._ It is a frozen treat made of milk and ice. Do you know what milk and ice are?" He spoke in a degrading tone that made me want to punch him.

"Dude, chill" Thunder said all of a sudden. I turned my attention to her. "He wants a vanilla ice cream cone, Sarah wants a strawberry shake, and I think I want a vanilla ice cream cone as well." She gave him a cheeky grin before giving him the cold shoulder, locking onto my eyes. His aggravation was evident in his steps as he returned to the store.

"What a misleading nametag" I grumbled slightly. Thunder and Sarah laughed at the remark, propping their bags on the other side of the round table. They were covered in all kinds of strange objects as well, but I knew better than to ask, not wanting to deal with another 'jolly' response.

"I think you should just stick with us for now." Thunder stated, clapping a hand on my shoulder. Under normal circumstances, I would shrug away, but I was slightly thankful, and a little awed, by the way she handled the situation. So I allowed it, and she eventually did drop her hand to pluck another mysterious object out of her pocket.

This world would never cease to confuse me.

I watched inquiringly as she flicked little rectangles on it, and then a little envelope appeared on it. I was thunderstruck.

"Whoa, what is that?!" I pointed at it. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes, blinking.

"A cell phone?" She said, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. She held it out to me, and I took it in my hands, turning it this way and that.

"What is all of this?" I motioned toward the upraised bumps and silver lining. I jumped when it slid to reveal more bumps, as it clicked into place. Who came up with these contraptions?

"Uhm, well," She began, a little confused herself. Sarah was smiling at both of us with undisguised amusement. "Those are buttons, with the alphabet on it, along with numbers, and this is the screen. It's an electronic device used to send messages to other people with similar devices." She stated, then, "I'm not sure I explained that very well though. Everyone has one."

"I want one." I thought out loud. There was an image on the 'screen' or Thunder and Sarah, making a heart with their fingers. It was weird, but it looked normal, as if that was something they did every day. I looked up at both of them, and saw that their necklaces matched. _'They must be close,'_ I concluded.

"If you want, I can give you my old one. It's not nearly as amazing as McFly there, but it's pretty bad ass." Sarah offered. "It's exactly like McFly, only it's not electric blue, it's black, and the side buttons don't work."

"I call her Hilda," Thunder put in, flashing me a smirk. "She goes on her womanly cycle a lot, and you have to take her battery out to make her cooperate."

I dropped the phone on the table, a little grossed out. "You mean these things are alive?" I asked, disbelief colouring my tone. I eyed it suspiciously. Thunder and Sarah giggled.

"No. We're just weird. We name inanimate objects and stick real-life situations to them when they fuck up. Such as my laptop, for example! She is a whore and has computer sex, that's why she takes forever to load and always has viruses!" Thunder explained, while Sarah nodded sagely.

"…Laptop?" I shook my head, overwhelmed. Thunder chewed on her bottom lip.

"Oops. I guess you don't know what that is. We can show you!" she piped, her face brightening at the prospect.

"Actually," Sarah corrected, "Thunder will show you. You should go home with her tonight and come to school with us tomorrow!"

I frowned. I'd been to school once, and I didn't like it. At least that was one thing this place had in common with my home though…

"Sarah, how am I supposed to get a boy in my house? My mom would castrate him and then beat me with a broom and handcuff me to the stair rail so I couldn't go outside and 'deflower my rose'!" She ranted, "And he can't come to school, he's not registered there."

Sarah pouted. "What about… What about Shredder's? Your mom let's you sleep over at his house _all_ the time!" She suggested, slapping her hands down on the table with excitement.

"That's perfect!" Thunder squealed. I watched them back and forth, not understanding the conversation, but wincing at the word 'castration'. "But," she added, much less enthusiastically, "How can we get him into the school system? He probably doesn't even know anything about the subjects!"

"Hey!" I said, offended. I wasn't stupid. They both ignored me, still debating.

"Hmm. That is tricky indeed," Sarah mused, rubbing her chin like Uncle did. It was odd to watch, as she had no facial hair. "Do you think Shredder can get some fake, but legit looking files for him? And I bet we could tag him as a foreign exchange student too! That way, his inability to understand simple things is because he was born in some third world country!"

Thunder stared at her dumbstruck. "You are BRILLIANT!" she shouted, throwing her arms around Sarah.

"What makes you think I want to stay?" I growled. I was beginning to get pissed with all of their assumptions of my intelligence and willingness to stay where they were.

Simultaneously, they broke apart from their hug and turned their hard stares onto me, their eyes daring me to defy them. I scowled back.

"Where else are you going to go?" Thunder asked, her voice low and dangerous. This struck a nerve. Where _was _I going to go? I couldn't get home; I don't even know how I left it in the first place! I couldn't remember anything from Mai leaving, and then those delicious feelings… What other options did I have? And worse, I couldn't even firebend here, I tried. I sighed in defeat.

"Fine." I muttered darkly. I had to give in, but that didn't mean I had to be happy about it. In the same moment, our jolly waiter reappeared, holding two cones in one hand, and what I could only assume was a shake, in the other. He dolled them out and collected Thunder's money.

'_At least they have money here, too. I guess every place needs money, though.'_ I deliberated in my head, holding the ice cream edgily. My anger was replaced with discomfort. I wasn't sure how to eat it.

Stealing a glance at Thunder, I saw her lick it, drawing her tongue from the bottom of the creamy white substance to the top, a bit of it painting her lips. I mirrored her.

"Wow!" I said, surprised at the taste of it. It was so sweet! But what really struck me was the temperature. It was as cold as snow!

Thunder was too engrossed in her cone to actually pay attention, but Sarah simpered. I watched Thunder as she closed her mouth over the top of the ice cream, swallowing and twirling her tongue around the cone. I smirked at her; she seemed to really be loving her ice cream.

I took another bite, and gulped it down. Suddenly an immense headache hit me. "Ow." I whimpered, and Sarah pointed a finger at me, laughing.

"HAHA! You got the first brain freeze! Weakling!" she sneered. I gave her a dirty look, but Thunder held her hand up which silenced me from my would-be angry outburst.

"It's his first time eating ice cream, cut him some slack." She defended, and then she clutched her own head, having suffered the same experience. Sarah jibed at her too, and that was when I realized it was one of those unspoken kind of competitions.

"Come on, let's walk to Shredder's. I just texted my mom and told her where we were going." Thunder said, standing up and reaching over to grab her backpack, while Sarah did the same. I stood up also, greedily licking my ice cream, which I mentally deemed my new favourite food.

Looking at both of them, I felt a little more at ease than I had a few hours earlier. I followed them, walking close to Thunder who was talking animatedly about something called' Bayside', and I found it a little hard to keep up.

I didn't have much choice, but I don't think I would have chosen to meet any other strangers.

* * *

So whatcha think?

REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW!

and also, thanks for the guys who review my first chapter =] it means the world to me.


	3. Chapter Trois: If You're Bored

Chapter Trois est ici! ok, ferget about my sucky french, i know, i haven't studied all summer XD anyway. well, i can't say much about chapter or it's lack of length -stabs chapter- i had fun writing parts of it, and others i spend hours endlessly pondering how to play it out.

**Reminder!** i posted a pic up on my profile that Shadowfire[or something like that, too lazy to look] drew for me! she's amazing! its zuko eating ice cream with me =] look at it and show some love 3

Chapter 3: If You're Bored

oh, and aside from the first chapter, i'm going to have a theme throughout the chapter titles, pm me if you can guess it ;]

WC: 4,400

Disclaimer: i don't own anything avatar!

* * *

**[Zuko's POV]**

The walk to Shredder's house had been pleasant, in a weird way. It was hard to grasp the concept of 'cars' and why everyone within them wanted to whistle at Thunder and Sarah. When they did that, Thunder would smirk and show them her middle finger, which, according to them, was an insult. I didn't get it, but I didn't get most of the weird things about this place.

About a few minutes after we had starting heading toward his house, I had downed my entire ice cream, cone and all. I wiped my hands off on my pants, they were sticky from when I couldn't lick my cone in time and the ice cream spilled over the brim and made a lazy trail down my fingers. Thunder and Sarah found my look of mortification positively hilarious, and laughed around their own icy desserts.

I sulked the rest of the way to Shredder's, my mind uncomfortably empty as we approached a dingy gray house with boarded windows and vines eating the entire left side. Huge trees towered over it, casting a haunting shadow over it, making it appear unbelievably creepy. I had my doubts about going in there, or why a mother would allow her daughter in such a place, but kept my mouth shut as Thunder marched up to the door like it was completely normal.

Cautiously, I peeked around, as if someone was going to explode from the shadows. My muscles felt frayed and tender, they had ever since I had gotten here. I really hoped this neighborhood wasn't as sketchy as it seemed. Looking over at Sarah, she seemed to be just as at ease as Thunder did, and, although I was still suspicious of the place, I relaxed a little.

Thunder rapped on the door three times, pressing her ear up against the grimy wood and sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. I turned to Sarah for an explanation for her behavior, but before I could voice my confusion, Thunder growled under her breath and faced us.

"Shredder isn't home." She grumbled, swiveling back around to feel all along the rim of the door frame. Her fingers landed on a silver key and she jammed it in the door victoriously.

"What makes you think that?" Sarah asked, leaning back to peep in between the cracks of one of the boarded up windows. "The lights are on, and I swear to you I hear music." She added. Thunder just viciously wiggled the key in the lock, becoming frustrated.

"Well, I mean, he doesn't normally answer the door, but I don't smell herb." Thunder's voice darkened at the same time she managed to budge the door open, stepping inside and instantly veering off towards what I could only think was a bathroom. My thoughts were confirmed when she threw over her shoulder, "Gotta pee, be right back." I directed my attention to Sarah, who had flopped down on a couch. I was curious again.

"What does she mean, she doesn't smell herb?" I wondered, arching an eyebrow at her. Sarah bit her lip, as if I had brought up some sort of taboo or something. I waited in a stretch of silence, getting more uncomfortable, until Sarah opened her mouth to speak.

"Herb is weed, and weed is a drug." Sarah mumbled. Her hesitancy made me even more curious as I sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Why did she sound like she had a serious hatred towards it?" I kept quiet like Sarah, in case Thunder walked in, because this was clearly one of those conversations she didn't like being in, from the way her and Sarah both acted. It's not like I mean to pry.

"Weed is really bad for you, and we lost a friend who was high on it. And her dad is a drunk. She is really straight edge about that stuff. She doesn't drink, smoke, chew, do drugs, or really even go past kissing with anybody." Sarah stated, keeping the information at a need-to-know level. I didn't mind, I mean, it was her job to stay true to her friend and not to me, a stranger. I understood that.

"So you don't do drugs either, right?" I asked, assuming that she didn't. If Thunder disliked drugs that intensely, I doubted her best friend would be an addict.

"No, never," Sarah responded at the same moment as Thunder walked back into the room and hopped over the back of the couch and landed in between Sarah and me. She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on Sarah's shoulder. A soft sigh escaped from between her lips, and she fumbled with the sleeves of a gray jacket she must have just adorned in the bathroom.

"Drugs are for fools." She mumbled, making my eyes widen. Had she heard our whole conversation? I didn't want her to go on a rage or start crying. Thunder chomped down on her lower lip and closed her eyes, just for a moment. Out of nowhere, though, before I could blink, she perked and cradled her face in her hands, inhaling deeply.

"My hand sanitizer smells like Sprite!" She chirped, pulling a tiny bottle of clear gel out and pouring a drop into her hand. Her mood had changed once again, and I was having trouble keeping up with her violent swings.

"Give me some!" Sarah said, thrusting her hands in front of the bottle, pulling them back when her demand was met. Then she began to rub her hands together furiously, as though she was washing her hands under water.

This world was crazy, really.

Thunder looked over at me and, without asking, grabbed my hand, startling me, and squeezing a small amount onto my hands. I almost jerked my hand back, but her grip was almost deadly, and I could feel her fingers just beginning to dig into my skin.

"Uh…" I started, but stopped when she cut me off, letting go of my hand. I held the strange gel in my hand awkwardly, not sure what to do with it, or myself for that matter. This situation just kept getting stranger and stranger.

"Rub your hands together." She ordered, snapping the lid shut and slipping it back into her pocket. I did as I was told, feeling a slight sting when the strange liquid washed over one of my cuts.

"Why does it burn?" I asked, slightly astonished. She rolled her eyes at me.

"It's called alcohol. It cleans your hands and cuts and makes you 99.9% germ-free." She spoke like she was reciting something, and Sarah smirked at both of us, now smelling her own hands.

"Definitely Sprite." She nodded, agreeing with Thunder's earlier statement. Thunder grinned, turning her attention back to Sarah. The gel, which was now just a cover of moisture on my hands, stopped stinging and was beginning to dry, making my skin itch. I wondered briefly if that was normal.

"I know right?" Thunder abruptly jumped up, standing on the couch cushion and leaping over the top again. "Speaking of which, I want a Sprite. Anyone else want one?" Sarah raised her hand in the air.

"I would like a scrumptious soda!" It almost sounded like she was singing. Scratching the back of my hand, I nodded when Thunder looked at me for an answer. Then she was skipping toward another room of the house.

I had to admit, after looking around, that the house was pretty well decorated on the inside. There weren't any plants growing inside and threatening to strangle anyone in their sleep. That had to be a plus, right? Paintings garnished the walls, some very horrifying, and others just plain strange. I assumed they could only be the work of Shredder himself. The furniture was decent, although I was thrown off by the amount of black box-shaped things and a giant reflective silver-framed object that was hanging on the wall, taking up most of it.

I didn't know what half of these things were! In fact, I didn't even know what 'Sprite' was, other than 'soda', and that wasn't ringing any bells either. I groaned with frustration and rested my head against the back of the couch, still scratching the back of my hand, ignoring the way my flesh felt like it was beginning to feel too soft.

Gesturing around the room, I looked to Sarah for a description of the things that were surrounding us. She gave me a blank stare for a few moments before she realized what I was asking. Sitting up, her eyes moved about, and her face was locked into a mask of thought.

"Well, that thing on the wall is a flat-screen TV. You can watch things on it. Its uhm, like moving pictures?" she seemed to be struggling to find the right words to describe it. I nodded for her to go on, thinking I knew what she meant a little. Moving pictures? Ok. I pointed to the black boxes with the black cords coming out. "Those are gaming systems. Games are like, entertainment-y things." Sarah simpered, "Thunder sucks at video games. She has the worst hand-eye coordination I've ever seen on a human."

I smiled back. I knew what hand-eye coordination was. "So what are the names of these, uh, systems? Or are they all just called 'gaming system'?"

"Oh, no, they all have different names." Sarah said, then, "That one is a PS3, the one of top of it is a Nintendo 64. Shredder has basically every console there is, but he uses those the most." She shrugged. "Thunder could list them all, seeing as she always has to _watch_." Sarah's laugh was cut short when an ice cold can was dropping in between her legs.

"Yeah, I watch Shredder kick your ass!" Thunder retorted, handing me my own can. I looked at it, mystified. Sarah opened hers by pulling on a metal tab and a hiss erupted from the can, along with a little white foam. I copied her. After she brought it to her lips and took a huge swig, I was hesitant, but did the same anyway, wincing at the way the bubbles made my mouth tingle

"Besides," Thunder continued, her tone less accusing, taking a gulp of her own Sprite, "I think I'm pretty rad at Mortal Kombat." She clasped her hands together and flexed her fingers proudly. My mind was at a blank. Why must these people be so complicated?

Once again, Thunder startled me by bouncing up, her soda sloshing in the can. The cautious sip I was taking splashed onto my chin and I wiped the bubbly liquid off, glaring at her. She took my drink and smacked it onto a coffee table, pulling Sarah and I up at the same time.

"I just had a killer idea." Was all she said when we shot confused looks in her direction. I looked at Sarah who simply shrugged as Thunder dragged us through the house in the direction of the bathroom. She had that same death grip, the one where her nails dug into my already red flesh. My hands were still itching, actually. I stumbled after her helplessly, unable to break free or scratch my hand.

We squeezed past the door frame, and Thunder sat me down on the lid of a toilet, pointing to my scar, and then the mirror, and back, nodding her head to Sarah, who was returning the gesture. I studied both of them with mixed feelings of confusion, and a little trepidation. I went back to scratching the flesh on the back of my hands, blinking and waiting for an explanation of their weird behavior.

"Zuko," Thunder said quietly, "I don't want you to be offended by this or anything, but how would you feel if we uhm, covered your scar up?" She looked me in the eyes with her big brown ones, and they were so sincere and unguarded for that one moment that I was slightly at a loss for words, just staring into them.

"I-uh, why?" I fumbled for a proper sentence, blinking up at her. She seemed to already have a response prepared for this.

"Because your scar is noticeable, and it attracts attention. People will ask about it, and I'm sure you don't want there to be rumors started about you, so just trust me." Thunder stated impatiently, already gathering make-up brushes and other beautifying products. As soon as I'd observed them properly and realized what type of horrors she was about to implement on me was the moment I got my thinking process in order.

"Whoa, wait, what are you doing with that?" I pointed warily at the compact she was holding, rubbing a black puffy brush in the dust and lifting it up, concentrating on my face. When she continued pulling together a bunch of make-up supplies, I became nervous and started to get up. Sarah shook her head and put a hand on my shoulder to stop me, then rotating my head just an inch so that more light shined on my face.

"We are so lucky Shredder is so metro and wears an eternity of make-up" Sarah commented. Thunder giggled and put more powder on the brush, lifting it up and blowing on it softly. Men wore make-up here?!

"Whatever you do, don't twitch or you'll make me fuck up. I'm putting make-up on you, and don't give me some bullshit excuse about your masculinity or something, because honestly, I don't care. No one is going to notice, and anyway, most guys wear make-up these days anyway, so just shut up and hold still." Thunder had already begun spreading the powder on the left side of my face, holding onto my chin. I opened my mouth to object, but Thunder mean mugged me until I closed it again.

For the better half of an hour, Thunder applied layers of make-up to my face, turning my face this way and that to judge her work. She would occasionally ask for Sarah's opinion, who would constructively give her tips, and remind her that my scar stretched all the way to my ear. Sometimes Thunder would bring out a 'cosmetic wipe' and dab at my face. Her lips pursed in concentration, working dutifully until she was satisfied.

Finally, after immobilizing my face for so long, she nodded and allowed me to look in the mirror. What I saw stunned me more than anything in the world, so far. My scar was gone, vanished, disappeared, and wiped off my face as well as the earth. I moved my head around, examining it like a diamond or something. The only way anyone would even be able to realize there was a scar there would be if the studied the almost invisible indent in my skin. I blinked, and they deepened, but looked more like dimples of some sort. I turned my surprised gaze to Thunder and Sarah who were watching me with smug expressions on their faces.

"I…" Was all I could utter. I was so shocked and bewildered by this kind of use of make-up. I was astounded and astonished and any other kinds of adjectives of that variety. But most of all, I was _grateful._ No one, other than Uncle of course, had shown this kind of… Selflessness. Katara, once, but she didn't go through with it, and I'd assumed her later hatred sort of cancelled out her previous kindness. No, this was totally different. Two girls had found me and gave me ice cream and now they made me look _normal_. I was…

"He's speechless!" Sarah said gleefully, clapping her hands together. Thunder was just barely smirking at my expression in the mirror, no doubting feeling proud of herself for the labor she'd done, slaving over my face with the make-up brush and foundation. When our eyes met, her smirk became more pronounced and her eyes gained a little spark of mischief.

"Well, Zuko, still think you're too manly for make-up?" Thunder asked innocently, holding her hand up to cover her smile, her eyes dancing with amusement. I didn't even know how to respond, or if I even _could_ respond. I was still too engrossed by my normal appearance in the mirror to actually take my mind off of it and form words inside of my head instead of random gibberish and appreciative feelings.

"Thanks," I finally mumbled, feeling just a little awkward at being so taken aback by their kindness. The looks they were giving me weren't helping much either. I wanted to ask them why they were doing this, why they were so nice, how they knew so much about me, if they knew why I'd been sent here, or if they knew a way back. The weird thing though, is that none of that seemed important right then. All that was going through my head was that they helped me, they helped me, they helped me.

"Ok, come on, don't be like that. Let's go play Mortal Kombat so I can kick both your asses!" Thunder exclaimed, always one step ahead of us and racing out of the bathroom, leaving me and Sarah faintly dazed by her change of mood and motion. Sarah, of course, was already used to them and had less trouble following suit and charging out of the bathroom. I shook my head, puzzled by both of them and their odd ways.

We spent a good part of our time playing video games, which I was actually pretty good at. However, neither me nor Sarah though could beat Thunder's superb skills at Mortal Kombat, but I surprised them both by beating her at Devil May Cry. Sarah jumped at the opportunity to jeer at Thunder for her pathetic coordination, mentioning how a person who'd never played games before had beaten her, she who had played video games since she was an infant.

Eventually, we grew tired of playing video games and Sarah and Thunder thought it would be fun and beneficial to explain every worldly object to me. They took this very seriously too, going into long drawn out details about the buttons on a remote, the way a microwave works, how to walk on an escalator. They even thought it was necessary to show me how to properly load a dishwasher, use a power drill, and change a light bulb. Sarah demonstrated the use of text message, while Thunder took the role of teaching me how to make a phone call. The information and the amount of it that was being piled into my head at a time were both overwhelming and exciting. I felt more comfortable with my surroundings too, that was for sure.

Ultimately, they ran out of things to tell me about, having fully explained the use of an mp3 player and the perks of laptops and digital cameras. I didn't think I could take much more anyway. Just as they were about to ask one another something else they could tell me about, the handle of the front door jiggled. We all looked at one another before looking back to the door, hearing the lock click into place. No light seemed to seep in from the crack, and that was when I realized how late it was, and how exhausted I felt.

"SHREDDER!" Thunder yelled, happiness colouring her tone as she threw herself towards the front door and into the arms of the person who walked in as soon as it was open. The figure stared down at the young girl snuggling into his chest and grinning from ear to ear.

"Thunder, why am I not surprised to see you here? And why did you turn my music off?" He stepped into the full artificial light of the room, the brightness revealing him to be a tall guy with an average build, jet black hair that tumbled down to his shoulder, and big dark brown eyes, drawn around with a thick layer of black eyeliner.

Breaking apart from their embrace, Thunder lead him toward the couch, pushing him down and placing herself beside him, resting the whole left side of her body against him, as though she needed his body heat or something. I ignored the way she nuzzled against him, repulsed. Physical affection was not something I really enjoyed, or wanted. On occasion, yeah, but right after I open a door? Hell no.

He seemed to enjoy it though, smiling back at her earnestly and blushing very slightly. I couldn't tell whether or not his face was really as white as it seemed, or if he was wearing make-up, and by the amount of beauty products he owned, I had to go with the latter. I couldn't judge though, I was wearing make-up too.

That surprised me, also. When he came in, his eyes didn't travel to my scar, they didn't cloud with pity or revulsion. He didn't immediately blurt his thoughts and ask what happened to my face. It was one of the best feelings I'd ever felt. I felt normal, for once. So normal, in fact, that I was surprised, too, when he _didn't_ give me a second glance or ask me what the fuck was wrong with me.

Shredder drew and arm around her and pulled her tightly against him and rested his cheek on her hair. "Who's the boy? Do I need to call my friends and beat him for breaking your heart?" Shredder grinned, whispering to her, although it was loud enough for everyone to hear. I was about to say something back, snap at him for accusing me, but I was silenced by Thunder's response, which was bubbly and animated.

"Of course not, Shredder. I think I know how to beat the fuck out of someone if I need to." She giggled, then "he's just a friend, and I need you to help him out." She turned her head to look up at him, throwing her legs over his and snuggling closer. "I would love you forever and ever and ever until time ceased to be, and then even more" She tacked on, offering him a cute grin. "Please?"

It was obvious to me, and probably everyone else, that Thunder had Shredder wrapped around her little finger, and by the way he swooned, I'm sure he was wrapped around tight.

"I'll do it, but only because I'm that amazing." He said, acting like he wasn't completely under her control. "What do you need?" he asked, looking from her to me. I was only faintly interested in the conversation, even though it was about me. The darkness outside was reminding me that I had been awake far longer than I have ever wanted to be, and it took a great deal of effort not to fall asleep. I mean, it had been this time when I had arrived here. That means I was awake for a whole day, and a strange day at that. Thunder seemed to notice this, eyeing me and turning to Shredder.

"I'll tell you in a minute, but I think he needs to get some rest. He looks really tired." She commented, probably noting the way I was beginning to sway from the dizziness and blurriness. I couldn't really see ahead of me anymore, too sleepy to keep my eyes open.

"First door on the left is a spare room, light switch is behind the door," Shredder told me, and I thankfully got up and wandered over to it, hearing them talk as I left. "You can sleep in my room tonight, I'll take the couch." He was telling her, at the same moment as she was denying his room, because it belonged to him, and she was only a guest. I never heard the end of that conversation, because the moment my head hit the pillow, my eyes were closed and I was out.

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Thus concludes chapter three. it was basically a filler to get past all this information junk.

read and review because you love me and i won't have internet all weekend! GASP!

i love you all who reviewed previously -love love love-


	4. author note D:

K, so, I wanted to throw this hurr author note up to let everyone

know how sorry i am for taking forever to update D:

first of all, i'm hopelessly brain dead, second of all,

i just got a new puppy so i am taking care of her and what not

[name suggestions? female pomeranian,kthnx]

plus!!! school starts in like, three days? yeah. so i have been

shopping and trying to straighten out my sleeping and i just

wanted you all to know i'm about 2,000 words into the next chapter,

so i SHOULD get it up when things settle down just a little bit.

basically, when i put it up, i'm taking this down, so yeah.

i'm sorry D:

i like you all ;D

pleasepleaseplease don't give up on me, i'm not dead xD

3 thunderr


	5. Chapter Quatre: Carry On

Chapitre Quatre- carry on

Word Count- 6,294

Disclaimer- I don't own anything!

Gosh, i am SO sorry this took so long! i PROMISE i didn't mean for this to happen! my life was really complicated at the end of summer, and then school started and i'm in theater now... and anyway, i PROMISE to update more often! D: i'm so sorry! and this chapter may seem a little OOC, so yeah, yell at me as you wish :]

* * *

An insistent poking woke me up. When I opened my eyes, I was staring blurrily into the face of Shredder who was prodding me and pointing at his digital clock. The too-bright red letters were blinking 6:00 in rhythm with Shredder's shoves.

"Thunder, get up you lazy little girl." Hewhined, rocking me back and forth, ripping the covers off of me. I made a whimpering noise and curled into a ball, cold.

"Shredder I'm too sleepy to get up." I moaned, grabbing one of the pillows and hugging it for warmth. Shredder continued to tell me to get out of bed, pushing me. Finally, after a moment, he realized I wasn't getting up that easily, so he took the pillow I had been holding onto and started beating me with it.

"I did not slave over muffins all morning for you to ignore them, now get up and go eat some damn muffins. Sarah and Zeke are already in the kitchen and they're waiting for you. Sarah's mom dropped her off an hour ago you know." he said in between smacks with the pillow.

I inwardly grinned when he used the nickname I'd come up with for Zuko. Let's face it though, "Zuko"was just too recognizable a name, and of course, Sarah and I were not planning on telling Zuko he was from a cartoon, that his world was imaginary, blah blah. I mean, wouldn't that freak a person out if someone told them that their life and what not was just a bunch of drawings? It totally would, no doubt about it. So we told him that his name didn't fit with the third world country he supposedly came from, so he had to go by Zeke. Are we geniuses or what?

Thenit hit me and my eyes flew open. In a flash I was jumping out of the bed, stumbling a bit. I staggered, recovered, and began racing toward the kitchen.

"MUFFINS!" I cried, sliding across the kitchen floor in my socks and coming to a stop in front of Sarah, my hands in the air like I was about to go into an electric guitar solo. "Hey there morning glory, how are you?" I asked cheerfully. Shredder walked in a few moments later, grinning smugly.

What can I say? I just can't resist muffins.

"By God, these better be lemon poppy seed." I grumbled, not caring if they were or weren't anyhow. I just wanted to put them in my tummy. Then I looked around for the other person I was supposed to see.

"You slid past him when you came in, and I'm fine Thunder dear, how are you?" Sarah responded, causing me to twirl around on my heels, yay socks, and blink, looking for Zuko. He was standing against the counter with his arms folded.

"Mm fine." I said absentmindedly, popping a muffin out of the pan on the stove and shoving the top of it in my mouth and taking a gigantic bite. "Awoo gona eat yrr mufvins?" I asked Zuko, mouth full of muffin, which, much to my satisfaction, was indeed lemon poppy seed and had a delicious glaze of some sort on top of it. I swallowed quickly and chomped down on the muffin again, smiling contently.

Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Zuko shook his head and waved his hand at them. I fell on them greedily, plucking them out of the pan with a butter knife and shoving each bite into my mouth before ever actually finishing the last. Zuko cast Sarah a sideways glance, a grimace on his face. Sarah shrugged back at him and turning her gaze onto me knowingly.

"It's Thunder and her muffins." she sighed, rolling her eyes at me and delicately nibbling on the top of her own muffin. I turned to her, hand and mouth full of muffins, looking at her like she was crazy.

"How van oo judge me?" I asked incredulously, taking a moment to gulp down the muffins and wipe my mouth off with the back of my hand. "It's _muffins_! That's like sex with Max Green in your mouth!" My eyes became hazy with love and out of the corner of them I could see Zuko look to Sarah for help once again. She smirked.

"Max Green is the bass player in the band _Escape the Fate._ Thunder wants to have his babies." Sarah laughed, making the appropriate motion by twining her first two fingers together. "She wants to be his lover." she added, simpering. Zuko still looked at her quizzically.

"No, no, no." I reprimanded, "I don't want to have his babies. I hate babies. Babies are gross and they are clingy and needy and there's no way in hell that I could actually put a little child's needs before my own. I'm too selfish for that, and I don't care if that makes me look bad," I said, standing tall proudly, "but," I added, grinning slyly, "I wouldn't mind being with Max Green." Then, as I downed another muffin, "his sex tastes good."

Zuko was staring at me, his mouth agape, as if I was crazy, and Sarah was doubled over laughing at my little speech. Shredder chose that moment to shuffle into the kitchen, a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, the ash steadily building and probably getting ready to fall onto the floor. He contented himself with breathing the smoke out in a hazy puff while giving me a confused look.

"Max Green? Man, fuck that guy." He rolled his eyes and shrugged like his words were some sort of law. I frowned and jutted my lower lip out at him, giving him my best puppy dog eyes expression.

"B-b-but Shredder!" I whined falsely, holding my muffin out to him in the middle of my two hands. Then I shruggedand took another bite. "Fine. Jarrod Gorbel sex." I corrected, wandering over to the fridge and pulling out a can of Red Bull. Shredder just smirked approvingly, obviously pleased with my love of Jarrod Gorbel, but then again, who doesn't love _The Honorary Title_? Other than Zuko, of course, who still looked perplexed about the whole situation.

"Thunder, are you seriously going to drink that?" Sarah asked, eyeing the can with insulting distaste. I turned to her, pretend-furious.

"Do not diss the Red Bull!" I reprimanded, snapping the tab and taking a long gulp, thankful for the cool liquid in my dry throat. Swiping my tongue across my lips, I held the can out to Zuko, offering him a sip. He eyed it warily before gingerly taking it from my hand and cautiously taking a sip, never unlocking his eyes from mine.

"It's not poison, you don't have to treat it like so." I muttered when he handed it back. Then I smiled and began to sing randomly, "been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding! The cretins cloning and feeding, and I don't even own a TV! Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me! You told them all I was crazy so they cut off my legs now I'm an amputee god damn you!" I spun in a circle, taking a quick swig of my Red Bull and shouting, "PARANOIA PARANOIA! EVERYBODY'S COMING TO GET ME!" And then Shredder wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"I'm not sick, but I'm not well," he said, grinning at me before taking my Red Bull and consuming three large gulps from it and set it on the counter. I was about to burst back into song when he jingled his keys at me. "We have a mission today, Thunder." He spoke, pulling out an imaginary light saber.

"Shwong!" I impersonated the sound of my own light saber and pretended to hold it out in front of me threateningly. "What is our mission?" I asked, my voice grave. Shredder swung his light saber towards an unseen foe.

"Kshk! Zwom!" Shredder pinned his target and looked back at me. "We must buy Zeke some school clothes." He answered just as he finished off his opponent with a sickening 'kzh'. We both turned to Zuko while Sarah silently snickered at his expression of confusion.

Suddenly I did a twirl on my heels and pointed at Sarah, "TAKE IT TO THE CHORUS!" I sang. She just laughed more and I was forced to huff impatiently at her. "You know, Sarah, we can never enter a talent show as a duet if you won't sing Sexy Back with me." I folded my arms in mock disapproval. Shredder and Zuko stood off to one side.

"Uhm, if it's not too much to ask," Zuko mumbled uncertainly, "I would like to know what the hell is going on." I turned to him, smiling widely.

"We are going to buy you some clothes, duh!" I told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And don't mind Sarah, Shredder and me, we always have exciting mornings." My mouth pulled into a half smile. "Anyway," I added, "you're going to need stuff to wear! And I'm just so kind that I convinced Shredder-boo to give me some cash to purchase you some fashionable apparel."

Zuko gave me one of _those _looks. I couldn't help but wonder if they really did just wear the same outfit over and over and over again, like they had in the show. He was a prince, I mean, jeez; shouldn't he at least have been able to get some awesome clothes to alternate? My mind was still thinking of all these things when he interrupted my sporadic thoughts,

"At this hour? Are yourshops really open this early?" he asked, looking at each of us with undeniable confusion and curiosity. I could have face-palmed. Shredder was looking at him like he was crazy, but trying not to put it into consideration.

"Of course not. We're just leaving early so we can drive way, way, way out of town. That way, as we are skipping school, no one will recognize us and be all 'what the hell? Get to school you truant little whippersnappers!'" I said, doing my best impression of a pissed-off cop, even imitating their caterpillar mustaches by holding my index finger over my mouth, my eyebrows pulled down into an angered appearance.

Cracking a small smile, Zuko nodded, giving me my props. I saw a small flicker of fear in his eyes at the prospect of having to ride in a car. For a guy who rode in metal ships and war balloons, he seemed awful wary of a car. I didn't mind it though, because I found his trepidation hilarious.

So eventually Shredder and I stopped improv-ing in the kitchen to get dressed. It went pretty well, aside from the brief fights over whose turn it was to use the straightener. Sarah was already dressed, so she basically just watched us with undisguised amusement, and often times she would mediate the dispute and call the odds in my favor, winning me more time with the straightener. I always did love that girl. Somewhere else Zuko was putting on some of Shredder's clothes that Shredder thought would fit him.

When I was finally done with my hair I went into Shredder's room and rummaged through the clothes on the floor, knowing about one third of the initial pile was mine. Tugging a pair of black skinny jeans out from the bottom, I quickly shimmied out of my pj's and pulled them on, searching about for a shirt. I was just about to tear through Shredder's closet when the door swung open.

"Hey, Thunder, I— OH, SORRY!" Zuko stepped in and swiftly turned around and closed the door after hearing me shriek with surprise. My arms rushed to cross over my chest, covering as much of myself as I could.

"HOLY FUCK ZUKO," I shouted, my voice an octave higher than normal and almost painful to hear in my own ears. Didn't they know how to knock in his world? "Don't move!" I quickly grabbed the first shirt off the ground and slipped it on over my head. I opened the door and he had obeyed me and was still standing there, much to my satisfaction. His face was probably as red as mine, and I awkwardly starting twirling the ends of my hair.

"What did you need?" I nibbled on my lower lip, avoiding actually looking in his eyes. Honestly though, what kind of person just opened doors without knocking? Seriously!

Zuko's eyes were focused on the ground too and I could just see the red blush still tinting his cheeks from the corner of my eye. "Uh, Shredder says we're leaving soon," he mumbled, swiftly turning away and rounding the corner into the living room.

My breath whooshed out of me, making my head spin just a little. I cradled it in my hand, propped against the doorway, trying to pull myself together. "Good God," I said to myself, slumping around the door frame and back into Shredder's room.

Approaching the mirror, I examined the outfit I had thrown together at random, and was pleased that my hands had found just the shirt I was looking for; Shredder's Zero Friends shirt that he bought a size too small specifically so I could borrow it. Cool guy, huh?

When I finally decided to leave the room and face everyone, mostly just Zuko, I grabbed my cell phone and sent Sarah a text;

"_Great Scott D: Zuko just saw me shirtless."_

I walked out, sliding my phone shut and taking a deep breath. Just as I entered, Sarah was furiously tapping buttons on her phone, and I just _knew_ what it was going to say.

"_Did you fan girl scream?"_

Figures. I quickly replied with a vehement no, seeing as I couldn't exactly fan girl scream with him right in front of me. That would just be awkward for him, and Sarah and I had kept the fact that he came from a TV show in strict confidentiality.

"Thunder, Sarah, Zeke, we cool?" Shredder asked as he pulled his keys out of his pocket and twirled them around his index finger. We all nodded, definitely avoiding each other's gazes as we followed Shredder out the door.

Sarah and I figured through text that I should probably sit up front, so as to refrain from having to further embarrass Zuko, but when we got to the car, I frowned when Sarah went to open her door. I wanted to sit next to Zuko. Embarrassed or not, he was _Zuko_ for heaven's sake! I made a mental note to sit in back with him on the way home. The positively excited look on Sarah's face made me extremely jealous, and I knew she knew this when she looked over and stuck her tongue out at me as Zuko was warily getting in. His obvious distaste for the vehicle really tickled me.

So, at last, we were off into the great beyond known as the highway, and I was absentmindedly chipping the nail polish off of my nails to avoid glancing toward Zuko. I have to admit, that was a hard feat. Every time we stopped at a red light, I was tempted to look back at him, and then I would hold my breath and wait until Shredder revved the engine and zoomed forward so I could watch the scenery fly by me instead.

Seriously though, it was just hitting me that _Zuko_ was in my _car_. Well, Shredder's car, but whatever. Shredder drove a nice Mitsubishi or something like that. It was a small silver car that felt like stepping into a spaceship every time I got in. The speedometer glowed in four hundred different colours and the speakers' bass always caused vibrations to roll through the seats. Shredder calls it his own back massage. It mostly just gets us pulled over all the time, and Shredder just about has a panic attack every time. Beneath his ultra manly exterior, he's a pussy, and I love him indefinitely.

"What has gotten into you?" Shredder asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked over to see a cigarette gripped in one hand while he lazily steered the car with the other, taking long drags off the death stick.

"Just sleepy I guess," I mumbled back in response, shrinking further into the corner of my seat, resting my head against the window. My breathing caused little fog rings to appear on the window, and I watched them show and fade. Shredder's eyes were on me though, and I could feel them. I felt strangely like prey.

"To hell you are," he scoffed. I was about to protest when I noticed him rummaging around the cd case strapped to his sun visor, pulling an all too familiar cd and shoving it into the cd player. Bayside. My mood instantly brightened when the music started. Shredder knew me so well.

And then he and I were singing loud and off-key, the way we always do when we're together. I threw my hands in the air, up through the car's sun roof and shouted lyrics to the sky. The sun was touching that same sky with hues of fiery pink and majestic purples that were being shoved under the horizon for sky blue to take its place. In that moment, I completely abandoned all of my feelings of the past few days, of Mr. McPherson, of Zuko, of Mom, and I just immersed myself into the music and let Bayside consume me.

I swear I'd never been happier.

Underneath the roar of the wind from the sunroof and Shredder's and my voices, I could hear Sarah in the back, screaming the lyrics along with us. I briefly imagined what Zuko's face must look like, and I nearly messed up the verse because of laughter threatened to bubble over. He must look so perturbed and be wondering just what kind of mess he'd stumbled in to.

The song ended way too soon, and Shredder rolled the dial on the stereo so that it wasn't quite as loud, and he looked over at me with a smug grin, knowing he'd succeeded in cheering me up. I couldn't even muster up enough of my stubbornness to roll my eyes at him or anything. Bayside had left me with a silly grin plastered to my face.

"I win," he laughed victoriously, reaching across the seat to shove me.

"Shredder," I whined, allowing myself to fall over a lot more than his shove had prompted. He made a face at me and leaned close enough to nuzzle his head on my shoulder. The car swerved a little, and I jumped. "Road, road, road! Watch the road!" I yelled, pushing him upright, even as he did very little to help me do so. In fact, he was pretty much a detriment, because he couldn't stop laughing at my reaction.

Finally, after all of that time, I looked behind my shoulder my eyes finding first Sarah, then at last Zuko. My eyes caught his and we were locked on to one another for just a few short seconds before I got nervous and looked away. From the corner of my eye, I swear he looked like he was smirking.

"So, Zeke, do tell me, how are you enjoying American music?" I asked nonchalantly, fidgeting with my necklace.

"It is really… Different. I've never actually heard instruments like those or used in that kind of way. It was definitely a learning experience." He replied, just as aloof.

"Strange," I answered back to him, not really knowing what to say. I slid my fingers along the sharp point of my necklace that I had carved from metal myself. The tip was incredibly sharp because I unfortunately was not smart enough to see the problems it posed.

"Uh, I guess." He averted his gaze to the window, and I couldn't help how my eyes traced along his jaw line. I looked over to Sarah and I could tell she was just dying inside with amusement. Her eyes sparkled with it, and I knew she was going to make fun of me later. I can't help it; I love to check people out.

I turned back around in my seat and was greeted with a sight for sore eyes; the mall, _finally._

We swiftly pulled into the first empty space, but Zuko was the first out of the car, and this _also _made me laugh inside. Immediately, though, Shredder was pushing us into the mall and we scattered, well, sort of. Sarah pulled Zuko away and left me and Shredder alone.

Bad idea.

The first thing we did was buy overly large smoothies that we both knew were going to give us a stomachache later, and then we bought the largest pretzels we could find, wandering through the building whilst trying not to spill the melted cheese all over ourselves. Eventually we found Sarah playing dress up with Zuko, and came in to judge what did and did not go well on him.

After too many preposterous outfits picked out by Sarah, Shredder finally stepped in, and Sarah and I pretty much just sat there and acted like truckers who saw a pretty lady whenever he came out. He didn't really get it, but Sarah and I got a kick out of it, so it was definitely worth the awkward stares.

More hundreds of dollars than I want to think about later, we had Shredder playing pack mule with the bags and Sarah was getting her own ultra humongous smoothie as I pulled Zuko away towards the fountain.

The fountain at the mall was nothing less than opulent. Miniscule details were put into the work that towered near the ceiling of the mall, and was absolutely stunning to look at. I bet the water bill for it is a bitch though. It was made entirely of stone with mosaic designs all around it. Some were absolutely stunning to look at while others were pretty creepy looking. It is really amazing what a person can do with broken glass. There were innocent flowers, starry nights, people walking, abstract designs, and of all things, a battle axe. The fountain kind of looked like a wedding cake, having many different levels to it that cascaded into little water falls.

I dragged Zuko along with me to it, loving how his eyes grew big at the sight of it. "Why," he asked, "is this in the middle of a store?" His somber tone made me smile as I leaned onto the ledge of it, dabbing my fingers into the water.

"It's for wishing, of course!" I answered, grinning up at him. He quirked an eyebrow and I exhaled loudly in mock exasperation. "Surely you guys make wishes in your world over yonder, right?"

Zuko simpered. "Over yonder? That sounds like something a southern water tribe man would say. Or one of the swamp dwellers, not a sophisticated American," he laughed quietly, then, "we make wishes, but we don't need sumptuous fountains to do so."

"Well, we do. Now come here," I patted the ledge and pulled two coins out of my pocket, handing one to him. He held it in the palm of his hand, looking at me for instructions. "This is how you're supposed to do it, you hold the coin in your hand, close your eyes, make a wish, toss the coin in the fountain, and then snap your fingers." I said, then demonstrating, hearing my coin bounce off the mosaic tiles and plop into the water. I opened my eyes in time to watch it drift towards the bottom of the fountain.

He followed my example, his coin being thrown almost too far, but he stopped before snapping his fingers and looked at me. "What good does snapping your fingers do? Is that really necessary?" he asked me, dubious of my wishing knowledge.

"Yes! You must! If you don't, your wish won't come true!" I prompted, snapping both of my fingers. He sighed and obeyed, snapping his left hand and looking at me with an 'are you happy now?' expression, to which I countered with a brilliant smile.

"What did you wish for?" he asked me all of a sudden, and I looked at him like he was crazy.

"I can't tell you what I wished for, or it won't come true," I laughed lightly. Zuko only reacted by nodding, and the silence made me a little nervous. I started chewing on my lower lip, averting my eyes to the fountain. I could still feel his eyes on me.

"Why do you do that so much?" His question caught me off guard, and I chomped down on my lip a little harder than I meant, a coppery taste flooding my mouth. I sucked on my lip for a moment before answering.

"I, uhm, well, when I'm uncomfortable or nervous I just kind of do it. It's a habit, really." I shrugged and began sucking on my lip again. Zuko was still looking at me, and I could feel the tension making me extremely nervous, which is never good. I babble endlessly when I'm too nervous. "I wished you wouldn't go." My voice was quiet and sounded way calmer than I felt. Well, calm in a little girl kind of way.

I guess my question caught him off guard, because I could see how his eyes widened, but then they softened. "I wished I could go back." The awkwardness from earlier was gone, and the change in atmosphere was almost tangible.

My amber orbs searched his, "Our wishes aren't going to come true now." He shrugged and we shared a timid smile, neither of us looking away from each other. Unknowingly, we had both moved a little closer to the other, which normally should have made me nervous, but all I could do was match his unwavering gaze. It was one of those 'time stood still' kinds of moments.

"There you two are!" Zuko and I jumped away from each other, facing opposing directions as Sarah and Shredder came towards us with smoothies. "Look! We got one for Zu-uh-Zeke!" Sarah was balancing three smoothies in her hands, and Shredder was carrying two. I planned to make fun of her verbal mess-up later and yell at her for ruining that moment.

"Who are the other ones for?" I laughed, gesturing to them. My own smoothie was still quite full, but if I was going to get a terrible brain freeze, I might as well get some quantity with it, right?

"Well, Shredder decided he wanted two smoothies, and I knew you would want another one," Sarah said, thrusting the smoothie into my hand. I opened it and poured the remains of my other smoothie into it and threw the cup into a nearby trashcan. I looked over to see Zuko taking a sip of his smoothie.

"Is everything this, uh, _cold_ in America?" He was holding the smoothie in front of him, observing the cup. That was when I remembered how he was drinking tea most of the time, and I bit my lip to hide a smirk.

Shredder shook his head pitifully, "you third-world country kids." I could hear the humor in his voice though, and he busied himself by demolishing his smoothie. Zuko just rolled his eyes and sipped his smoothie.

I stretched my arms and nodded to Sarah, and we wandered away. "Come on, boys, let's get out of here." I threw over my shoulder.

They were a few paces behind me, and Sarah took that opportunity to bombard me for answers.

"Tell me everything!" She said in a frenzied whisper, grabbing onto my hand and pulling me forward so that we were walking ever-faster than the boys. I'm sure they must have been curious as to what we were doing, but then again, Shredder had a tendency to fill every silent second with pointless chatter.

"Look," I started," it was nothing. I took him to the fountain and told him about making wishes and he made fun of our 'sumptuous' fountain, or some word like that, and then I started biting my lip and he asked me why I did that so much-"

"Because you're nervous!" she cut in, stating it as though it was such an obvious answer. I nodded and continued.

"Yeah, and then I told him what I wished for and he told me what he wished for and that was basically it." Sarah was giving me a glare, so I added, "really. Nothing else happened."

"Then why were you nervous? And why were you two uber close and what not? I thought we were best friends now you tell me everything!" She whined, leaning heavily against me. I laughed at her and shoved her away. We were at the car by now, and the guys were pretty close.

"That's it, really. Now shut up!" I shoved her towards the front seat and stuck my tongue out at her victoriously. I got in the back and contented myself with drinking my smoothie, propping my legs on the headrest of the front seat.

"To the school?" Shredder inquired as he got in the front seat and started the car. I nodded, stealing a peek over at Zuko who was securely fastening his seatbelt, as though his life depended on it. I snickered and kicked Sarah's seat. She looked back at me and I gestured to Zuko with my head and she covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

So, we were off and on our way back into town. Every so often Zuko would catch me looking at him or vice versa, and we would both blush and look away. Occasionally I would start loudly singing the lyrics of whatever song was on, and he would be pulled out of some thought and it would startle him. Sarah and I both sang every Jens Lekman song that came on while Shredder made derogatory comments, to which we responded to by singing louder.

It was when we pulled up into the parking lot of the school that I remembered I was supposed to meet Mr. McPherson before school, and I smiled widely. Zuko couldn't have picked a better day to appear out of thin air. I rolled my window up, however, just in case a teacher stepped outside and noticed how Sarah and I were not in class right now. It was about 1 or so, which meant we still had a few more classes.

Shredder went inside to get homework for Sarah and me and to enroll Zuko at the high school. We'd spent the previous night making all of these fake papers for him so that he was could come to the school as a foreign exchange student. I have to admit, for fake papers, they looked pretty legit. Only a few moments later, Shredder came back out holding a plethora of papers, and I reached forward to open his door for him as he spilled the papers into his seat.

"I'm making you guys fill these out. There is no way in hell I am signing all of these," he pointed at the pile, shoving it aside so he could get in. I rolled my eyes, knowing he would sign them all if I asked him just once.

When we got back to Shredder's, Sarah and I were the first one in and we collapsed on the couch, lethargic. I strained to reach behind the couch and grabbed a snuggie, shoving my arms through the sleeves and grinning smugly. And Shredder thought these things were a waste of money.

"Shredder," I called in my cutest voice, "will you get me a soda? My smoothie is gone." I waved the empty plastic cup in the air, and Shredder grabbed it, sighing. I smiled at him, making a heart with my fingers for him. "Ok, Zuko let me see your schedule!" I sat up so that I was no longer on my back, and Sarah did the same, leaning against me.

Zuko sat down on the opposing end of the couch and handed the yellow for to Sarah who held it up in front of us so we could both read it. He had English, Japanese, math, study hall, lunch, and then music.

"You have some of the same classes that Sarah and I do! You have English and math, with me, and you have lunch with me and Sarah." Then I eyed the schedule skeptically, "Japanese? Do you even know Japanese?" I asked him, pointing at his second period class.

"Uh, yeah, I am actually. I'm fluent in it as well as English," he answered, rubbing his neck and looking at the schedule too.

I bit my lip, and pointed at his fifth period class. "What about that? Can you play instruments?" He nodded and I pursed my lips thoughtfully. "You should play something for us sometime."

Zuko blushed at this comment and shrugged, "well, I wouldn't say I'm particularly talented…" he trailed when he looked up at us. We were giving him our biggest puppy dog eyes. "I-uh, well, ok. Maybe some time." Sarah and I grinned triumphantly, about to say something when Shredder handed us our drinks.

"Hey, Thunder, I'm going out. I'll be back later, alright? Don't burn anything valuable," Shredder said as he was shutting the front door.

I yawned and pushed Sarah off of me, shifting so I had my feet dangling over the arm of the couch, my head on Sarah's thigh. "Sarah," I started, "what day is it?"

"It's Thursday, why?" She answered, playing with my hair. We probably looked weird to Zuko, but this was a perfectly normal thing for us.

I groaned. "Frightening McFearsome Friday, that's why. He's always friskier on Friday." I rolled over onto my side and almost spilled my soda on myself trying to drink it. Sarah's eyes were boring into me, but I ignored it and sat my drink on the coffee table. "Haha! Zuko has to be subjected to Mr. McPherson's 'new student' ceremony!"

Sarah and I both started laughing so hard that I had to sit up because Sarah was doubling over. Zuko stared at us the same way he did the first time he met us, and his look just made it even harder to stop laughing. It took a while, but when we were finally able to regain our composure I threw an arm around Sarah and looked at Zuko with an amused expression. He just looked at me, expecting some sort of explanation, I assumed.

"What is a 'new student' ceremony?" He asked, almost in a demanding kind of tone. Sarah and I exchanged glances and grinned at him.

"Oh, you'll find out, trust me."

* * *

reviews for me? yes? oh thank you so much :3

i need a beta read, yo! hit me up, pretty please.


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